There are debates about audio books vs paperback vs digital formats. This post is not about that. Although that would be an interesting post. But I will not try to convince you to listen to a book if that’s not your jam. Well, I won’t deliberately try. As for SFF… you either love it or you’ve already moved onto the next blog post and we’ve parted as friends.

This post is my recommendation list for SFF audio books I’ve loved and why. Side note, I am in awe of great narrators. I’ve actually bought some audio books because of the narrator. Kind of like watching a movie because of the actor? So I’ll also include a bit about the narrator because they’re so critical to audio books.

OK, my ten fave SFF audio books to date.

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir.Narrated by Ray Porter.

This is my idea of a perfect book. It’s a master class in escalating stakes and plotting, while having the characters be the reason you can’t put it down. It’s got a nested flashback story that’s done so brilliantly you forget it’s flashbacks. Plus it’s narrated by the absolutely amazing Ray Porter. The characters talk in an immediately identifiable way. He’s a master voice actor if there ever was one. AND… if all that’s not enough, there’s some musical elements to the book that are just a joy in the audio book. I’ll sneak in a quick mention of Weir’s previous novel, Artemis narrated by Rosario Dawson, which I also really enjoyed.

The Murderbot Diaries (7.5 books) by Martha Wells, narrated by Kevin R. Free.

Ah, these books. This character. I love Murderbot so much. The first four books are novellas, all under 4 hours. Then there’s a 4.5 book, and the rest are novels. This series really got under my skin. At first it’s just wonderful fun and then after a while, the heart of this story swept me away and gave me much to think about. Free does an excellent job of narrating these stories.

The Locked Tomb Trilogy by Tamsyn Muir, narrated by Moira Quirk.

The first book in the series, Gideon the Ninth I listened to in utter surprise and delight for the entire book. It’s insanely inventive and I loved the characters. It pulls no punches this one. The books do get progressively weirder until the last is somewhat unintelligible. But it’s mad fun. PLUS, I could listen to Moira Quirk all day. British comedian and actress, her narration is a pure joy. I laughed out loud so many times in this series. Of course, Tamsyn Muir had much to do with that, but the delivery was always spot on.

The Red Rising Trilogy by Pierce Brown, narrated by the one and only Tim Gerard Reynolds.

A true master of voice acting. He can do any accent and perform any character so that you forget it’s all just him. And the story itself, well, it’s annoyingly brilliant. (In interviews Brown does seem a tiny bit smug?) It’s quite violent and grim, so there is that warning. But grippingly good. The story is masterfully told, escalating beyond where I thought it could go, over and over. It’s an audio book you just can’t hit pause on.

Bobiverse series by Dennis E. Taylor, narrated by Ray Porter.

There’s 4 books in the series and I have only listened to 3 of them so far. They are super fun, wonderfully written, and “out there” enough to be very cool. Super funny books and Ray Porter never misses a beat. Ever. But I’ve said enough about Porter, so I won’t gush on.

The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi narrated by Wil Wheaton. I confess, I struggle a tiny bit with Wheaton’s narration. He’s a bit too earnest or excited or something? That said, it never stopped me from thoroughly enjoying the novel. It wasn’t a story that I lost sleep needing to see what happened, but it’s got great characters and a really cool idea behind it. I haven’t listened to the other 2 books in the series yet, The Interdependency, but I will.

The Final Architecture series by Adrian Tchaikovsky, narrated by Sophie Aldred.

There’s 3 books in the series, and I’ve listened to the first two. I have the third in the queue.  This is a super cool story. It took me a little bit to get into it, but when I did, I was so completely hooked. I loved the idea, the mystery of it, and as the characters became like family to each other, so did they to me. Aldred does a brilliant narration of it. Trivia: She played Ace, Doctor Who’s feisty baseball bat wielding companion. (Something I only learned writing this blog.)

The Tensorate Series by Neon Yang, narrated by Nancy Wu.

This story is classy and completely engrossing, with an incredibly strong heartbeat. Beautiful narration. The series is three novellas which I bought in a bundle. All three come to 13 hours, 39 minutes. The first 2 books are more traditionally told, and the third is a different structure. I confess I didn’t find the 3^rd as engaging. But the first two… <chef’s kiss>

The Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson, narrated by Michael Kramer.

If you’re looking for a way into Brandon Sanderson’s massive catalogue of novels, this is the place to start. The first book, The Final Empire is absolutely brilliant. It’s got a crazy-cool magic system, and characters you would follow to the ends of the earth. Fantasy at its finest from the fantasy mastermind. The narration is also brilliant. Kramer delivers an incredible performance. Would you expect anything less?

The City & The City by China Mieville, narrated by John Lee.

Want something different? This is it! It’s a wild cool world with a crime mystery plot. It’s got some fantastical elements that are mind-twistingly wonderful. And the narration is excellent. This novel has won a ton of awards, by the way. Like a lot.

That’s 10! But I have two Special Mentions. Come on. Give me 2 special mentions.

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree, narrated by Travis Baldree.

I usually find it weird when an author narrates their own book, but Baldree was a narrator before he became a writer, and he’s very good at it. This is the first “cozy SFF” novel I’ve listened to. It was recommended to me as something I should “be aware of” because I usually gravitate to larger stories. And it’s surprisingly good! Great non-human characters and some sweet romance as well. If you’ve never heard of “Cozy SFF” and you’re curious, this is worth a listen.

Finally, I would be remiss if I did not mention…

DUNE by Frank Herbert, narrated by a ton of people.

This is an epic experience as an audio book. I won’t bore you with what you already know about the story.

A word on pronunciations and switching from a paperback to an audio book.

I’m currently listening to The Obelisk Gate by N. K. Jemisin, narrated by Robin Miles. It is the 2^nd book in The Broken Earth trilogy. I read the first book, The Fifth Season in paperback. When I finished the book, I sat there for maybe five minutes with my mouth hanging open. But the sheer shattering brilliance of this book is not the point. The point is, I decided to listen to the next book in an audiobook. It took me ages to figure out who anyone was! The pronunciation of all the names was so different than what I had in my head. And the narration, which is great, wasn’t my own voice that I’d “heard” the first story in. So that’s been interesting. Time will tell if I’ll listen or read the final book.

Here’s a super cool youtube of Ray Porter showing how he does different personalities in narration.

What are some of your favourite SFF audiobooks?